PARTNERSHIP AND COOPERATION AGREEMENT – PCA

Cooperation between Georgia and the European Union began in 1992, when the European Union recognized Georgia as an independent state. Initially, partnership was confined mainly to humanitarian and technical assistance which has been deepened subsequently, and today Georgia is an associated country of the European Union, enjoying an unlimited access to the European Union market and benefitting from visa-free travel to the countries of the European Union/Schengen area.

Recognizing the independence of Georgia in 1992, the European Union began to cooperate with the country mainly in the area of humanitarian and technical assistance. On 22 April 1996, in Luxembourg, the representatives of the EU Member States, the President of the European Commission and the President of Georgia signed Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Georgia and the European Union, which entered into force in 1999. The Agreement was signed for a period of 10 years, to be automatically extended each year for successive one-year terms, unless objected by one of the parties. The Agreement covered many areas in which to work together to achieve certain political, economic and social goals. Although the Agreement did not define criteria for intermediate or final goals of cooperation (for example, the required criteria for EU membership), it envisaged a continuous process of rapprochement and harmonization with EU standards.

According to Article 43 of the PCA, Georgia will ensure that its legislation be gradually made compatible with that of the Union. The approximation of laws will extend to the following areas in particular: laws and regulations governing investments by companies, customs law, business law, banking law, company accounts and taxes, intellectual property, protection of workers at the workplace, financial services, rules on competition, public procurement, environmental protection, consumer protection, indirect taxation, technical rules and standards, nuclear laws and regulations and transport. Article 44 of the PCA deals with the approximation of the Georgia competition laws with those of the EU.

It should be noted that on 2 September 1997, the Parliament of Georgia adopted a resolution according to which all laws and other normative acts adopted by the Parliament of Georgia starting from 1 September 1998 must comply with the norms and standards established by the European Union.

Government Commission for the Promotion of Partnership and Cooperation between Georgia and the European Union was established in 2000. The Commission, among other functions, was responsible for facilitating the approximation of the Georgian legislation with that of the European Union. The Commission, in collaboration with relevant ministries and agencies, developed a strategy for harmonization of the Georgian legislation with that of the European Union. The strategy was approved by Presidential Decree #613 of 14 June 2001.

Next came the development of national programme for harmonization of the Georgian legislation with that of the European Union. Work on the programme continued from 2001 to 2003. By Government of Georgia Resolution of 8 May 2004, the national program for the harmonization of the legislation of Georgia with the legislation of the European Union was approved, , and the members of the government were instructed to develop individual (sectoral) action plans for its implementation.

The following joint institutions were formed to implement and monitor the implementation of Partnership and Cooperation Agreement:

• Cooperation Council – convened once a year. Its function was to supervise the implementation of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. It consisted, on the one hand, of representatives of the Georgian government, and on the other hand, members of the Council of the European Union and the European Commission. Within the Cooperation Council, the parties discussed the issues arising out of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, as well as other issues as part of bilateral or international cooperation, which were subject of common interest and served the goals of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement.
• Cooperation Committee – met once a year at the level of high-ranking government officials. It prepared the meetings of the Cooperation Council and ensured a continuous process between the meetings. The Cooperation Committee included the sub-committees dealing with:

transport, environmental protection and energy;

employment and social affairs, public health, training, education and youth, culture, information, society and audiovisual policy and science and technologies;

trade, economy and related legal issues;

law, freedom and security.

• Parliamentary Cooperation Committee consisted of members of the Parliament of Georgia and the European Parliament. It served as a platform for political dialogue between the EU and Georgian parliamentarians.

EU technical assistance program – TACIS

In 1991, the European Union launched the Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States – TACIS programme to support the process of transition to market economies and democratic societies in the former member states of the Soviet Union.

The mentioned programme was the main instrument for the European Union to ensure the implementation of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. Later, the relationship between the EU and partner countries became more formal and politically active. At the beginning of TACIS, technical assistance was provided separately, but later the programme became part of a complex and rapidly growing relationship with partner countries, including Georgia.

Through the implementation of a great number of programmes, TACIS made a significant contribution to the development of civil society and market economy in Georgia. During the period from 1992 to 2006, the European Commission as a whole allocated up to 131 million in aid for the implementation of hundreds of projects in Georgia within the framework of TACIS. In 2007, the TACIS programme was replaced by the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI).

EUROPEAN NEIGHBORHOOD POLICY/ENP

From 2003, the European Union developed European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), which aims to avoid new dividing lines in the eastern and southern neighborhoods of the enlarged EU and promote prosperity, peaceful development and security there. Within the framework of the ENP, the EU’s relationship with its neighborhood is based on the values of democracy, rule of law and protection of human rights and is aimed at promoting the process of political, economic and cultural rapprochement between the parties. It should be noted that the European Neighborhood Policy extended to include Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan from June 2004 and aims to achieve progress in such areas as:

• Harmonization of standards and rules;
• Granting preferential trade regimes to the countries participating in the “neighborhood policy” of the European Union, in order to facilitate the access to the European Union market;
• Creating the basis for free movement of human resources and legal migration;
• Strengthening cooperation on security issues, in particular, in the fight against terrorism, transnational organized crimes, drug trafficking, money laundering and corruption;
• Ensuring more active engagement of the European Union on the issues of conflict settlement and crisis management;
• Directing greater efforts to deepen cooperation in the field of human rights protection and culture;
• Integrating the countries participating in the European neighborhood policy in the European transport, energy and telecommunication networks, as well as in the European research area (European Research Area);
• Creating new tools for promotion and protection of investments;
• Providing assistance, which is better oriented to the needs of the countries participating in the “neighborhood policy” of the European Union;
• Finding new sources of financing, including access to loans of the European Investment Bank (EIB).

In November 2006, the Government of Georgia and the European Commission reached an agreement over the action plan under the European Neighborhood Policy, which supported the implementation of the strategic goals of cooperation and the corresponding political and economic priorities. The action plan was adopted on 14 November 2006. The European Neighborhood Policy made a significant contribution to the deepening of cooperation between Georgia and the European Union and facilitated the process of carrying out economic reforms and the establishment of state institutions in the country.

EUROPEAN NEIGHBORHOOD POLICY INSTRUMENT/ENPI

The European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) was a financial instrument intended to support the neighborhood policy with specific financial activities and was effective from 1 January 2007. The European Neighborhood Policy instrument replaced cooperation programmes such as TACIS (for Eastern European countries) and MEDA (for Mediterranean countries). From this point of view, the European Neighborhood Policy instrument ensured the continuation of the strategic line of these programs. Its main goal was to share common values, create an area of stability and prosperity, ensure intensive cooperation and deeper economic and regional integration, taking into account the whole range of cooperation areas.

Between 2007 and 2013, financial assistance under the European Neighborhood Policy instrument amounted to 11 billion euros, significantly increasing the EU’s support for its neighbourhood. In 2007, within the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy instrument, Georgia received 24 million euros, which was used to reform the priority areas of the action plan. Within the scope of the European Neighborhood Policy instrument, the general budget for 2007-2010 amounted to 120 million euros. After the war of August 2008, the European Commission allocated an additional 500 million euros for Georgia from the conflict-related package of the European Neighborhood Policy instrument, the main part of which went towards internally displaced persons.

European Neighborhood Instrument (ENI) for 2014-2020

In December 2011, the European Commission submitted a proposal to the European Parliament for the approval of new foreign aid instruments for 2014-2020, including the European Neighborhood Instrument. According to the joint communiqué of 25 May 2011, the new European Neighborhood Instrument (ENI) would provide assistance to 16 partner countries to the east and south of the EU’s borders, from 2014 to 2020. This tool became effective in Georgia from 2015.

It should be noted that unlike ENPI, ENI does not include cooperation with Russia.

ENI’s total budget for 2014-2020 amounts to 15 billion euros to support 16 countries under the neighborhood policy, in the following areas:

1. Bilateral programmes envisaging support for individual partner countries;
2. Multilateral programmes that respond to common challenges facing all or several partner countries and also include regional and sub-regional cooperation between two or more partner countries;
3. Cross-Border Cooperation (CBC).

To encourage partner countries, the European Neighborhood Instrument uses the method of differentiation and “more for more” principle: according to the regulation, special attention is paid to those countries that actually participate in building a strong and sustainable democracy based on the rule of law, and the criteria for allocating financial assistance is based on the principle of differentiation. The European Neighborhood Instrument should reflect the level of ambition of the country’s partnership with the European Union,and its progress on building a deep and sustainable democracy and implementing reforms.

The main goals of ENI are: promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms; support for progressive economic integration into the EU internal market; rebuilding trust to promote security and conflict prevention and resolution; increasing people-to-people contacts; facilitating sectoral cooperation (e.g. in the fields of energy and climate change) and development of civil society organizations.

The ENI Regulation provides for increased links with internal EU instruments and policies to strengthen EU policy-driven aid, ensuring coherence between internal and external instruments of the EU budget. As a result, partner countries and their nationals will be able to participate in successful internal EU programmes in areas such as student mobility, youth programs or civil society support.

EASTERN PARTNERSHIP (EAP)

Eastern Partnership (EaP) initiative, as a new format of cooperation with the European Union’s eastern neighbours  (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine) was an initiative developed by Sweden and Poland. In August 2008, Russia’s military intervention in Georgia speeded up the implementation process of the mentioned initiative. Accordingly, in December 2008, the European Commission was tasked with submitting proposals related to this initiative.

In 2008, during the Russia-Georgia war, President Sarkozy, as the president of France  then holding the EU presidency  played an important role in reaching an agreement on ending the Russia-Georgia war and achieving a ceasefire. Already after the war, the European Union provided important financial assistance to Georgia and, in order to prevent a renewal of the conflict, deployed EU Monitoring Mission to Georgia, which still continues to monitor the situation across the administrative boundary line from the part of the country under central government control, and contributes to improving the level of security and living conditions of the population affected by the conflict. Despite the fact that the Russian Federation does not fully implement the 12 August 2008 ceasefire agreement and the EUMM has no access to the territory of the Tskhinvali region and Abkhazia, the EU Monitoring Mission is the only international mechanism operating in the conflict zone that explains its importance.  The European Union is actively involved in the conflict settlement process known as the Geneva Dialogue, which is also part of the 12 August 2008 Agreement. The Geneva dialogue is co-chaired by representatives of the European Union, the OSCE and the UN. It is also significant that the overall support package for 2008-2010 pledged by the international donor community at the 2008 Donors’ Conference in October 2008 amounted to USD 4.5 billion.

On 3 December 2008, the European Commission published a communiqué on the Eastern Partnership, which was approved by the European Council on 19 March 2009.

Eastern Partnership is not an alternative to EU membership.  Howvwer,  it contributes to the EU integration of the partner countries through bilateral and multilateral cooperation, as well as dissemination of shared values and the strengthening of security and economic development in the region.

Within the Eastern Partnership, cooperation is being developed in two formats: bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral cooperation envisages the further deepening of cooperation between the European Union and each partner country, which includes: the establishment of new, wider contractual relations by signing the Association Agreements. The goal of multilateral cooperation is to provide a new format for cooperation in the fields of common interests and the ability to deal with challenges. Such a format aims to develop cooperation processes in the region through the implementation of joint projects in the fields of security, migration, trade, transport, energy, environmental protection, other.

Cooperation institutions created within the framework of the Eastern Partnership

Civil Society Forum

Within the framework of the Eastern Partnership initiative of the European Union, civil society was institutionalized to promote active cooperation between non-governmental organizations of the European Union and partner countries. On 17 November 2009, EaP Civil Society Forum – CSF was founded in Brussels for this purpose.

Sessions of the Civil Society Forum are held annually to develop recommendations for the EU and partner countries. National platforms have been created in each partner country to guide the work of CSF. Currently, the National Platform of Georgia unites 180 local and international non-governmental organizations being members and 5 associate members.

From a meeting of civil society representatives, the platform has transformed into an institutionalized policy forum, which unites the countries of the EU and the Eastern Partnership (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine) by allowing them to share their ideas and best practices, and aims to extpand the European integration process to the Eastern neighborhood of the European Union.

EuroNest

“EuroNest” – Parliamentary Assembly  within the framework of the “Eastern Partnership” established on 2-3 May 2011 in Brussels to strengthen the cooperation between the members of the European Parliament and the parliaments of the partner countries.

The Assembly brings together 10 parliamentarians from 5 countries of the EU Eastern Partnership Programme (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Moldova) and 60 members of the European Parliament.

Eastern Partnership beyond 2020: Reinforcing Resilience – an Eastern Partnership that delivers for all.